So our planned post about socials communities is on hold! Because we wanted to uncover the core of your motivation.
We had the chance to speak to an individual yesterday with a valid goal and a thought out process but a fear of letting go of the past and accepting the positive of their future.
No one, repeat no one can motivate you.
Oh you can be inspired no doubt and the inspiration from a person or event can be highly emotionally charged and resonate so powerfully that you can't help but move forward with your goals. But unless you have discovered within the motivation that is self generated and as such self perpetuating then that brick wall looms large and fast approaching.
The pre game address from a great orator and coach can get you running onto the field revved up and that adrenalin rush leads to action that can get results fast. What happens when things get tough? In that third quarter of the game? Do the words in that pre game address cause our second wind, those heroic efforts that change the course of the game? Or is it what is inside use that leads to winning or just missing out?
Think about where you are right now.....in your business, in your sales year, in your relationship, in your friendships, in your life. Now imagine it is your third quarter in the game you are playing but the final whistle sounds now....that's it....game over.....where have you finished?
In your business have you achieved what you wanted? Are you ahead / behind?
In your sales year ....what percentage of target have you finished on.....is it 90% or is it 110?
In your relationship.....what have you missed out on doing that you regret...should you have proposed, started a family, said "I love you"......or should you have exited the relationship here, here, here and there!!
In your life.....do you look back and smile...satisfied.....or is there so much more you wish you could have done?
Now how does this all feel?
So you finished on 90%. Could you have made 100%, 110%? What more could you have done, differently, the same with more consistency ....if you had just more time what would you do to feel....better?
How does 90% feel knowing 110% was there if you had just tried that little bit more? If the voice in your head was less concerned about fear and more concerned about sending you positive messages.
And what if you are on 110% how does that feel? And knowing how good that feels...how does it positively change things for you and your world....what are the consequences of hitting your goal....so what do you need to do to capture that feeling, bottle the very essence of it....what would you do to make sure, guarantee you are going to feel that way.....and extra sales call a day .....?
So what if you should have spent more time with your family...one more hug, one more "I love you" that you should have said....or maybe your priorities are spot on and you know they know just how much you love them as you never left that to chance.
Understanding how you feel on reaching that future goal, what it would mean, what would change in your world ....is the first step in visualising and outcome to provide positive motivation to keep you on track ...you need to imagine how it feels emotionally and physiologically.....only then can you synthesise your body and mind to delivering that goal for you. The movie of your life becomes inherently positive ...it's the slide set you want shown at your funeral the movie you want to see over and over again. It's the Disney feel good, rising above the odds story.....not the B grade unlikeable character that no one warms to or respects...."I hated that guy in that film"....is that who you want to be?
But here's the rub. There is no finish line. When the final whistle blows, there is another game starting. There is always something else to work towards. Once you accept that then you are ready to accept that if you live your life like the final whistle is about to blow and as such make every second count then you can live without regret, able to smile at your efforts, reflect warmly and without questioning what if.
Finally this quote from poet Kim Rosen may resonate for you ...."when you welcome what you've been running from, your life is no longer shaped by trying to avoid it"......visualising the ideal you and working towards it is a great first step.
Thursday, 26 September 2013
Friday, 20 September 2013
The power of communities : Facebook content that's meaningful
PCE had the privilege and responsibility this week to be the MC for The Warwick Cancer Foundation http://thewarwickfoundation.org.au/ Australian Rules Football finals series lunch to raise awareness of the great and much needed work that this foundation does.
Decidedly nervous as being self aware (PCE are most comfortable presenting on client engagement psychology) as an MC PCE realises they are not funny (proven on previous MC attempts!).
But that did not matter. What really mattered was the expression of a community, the inclusion of people, cancer patients aged 18 to 40 who don't have a formal support network and the telling of their stories to spread the word and create something bigger than ourselves and something positive out of the trauma of a cancer diagnosis.
One of the key messages of the day was : tell the story. That is share it, spread it : the power of social interaction that defines our identity and creates new social structures that challenge the staus quo and changes, positively changes the society in which we interact.
Without the social interaction foundations such as the Warwick Foundation can not do the work to change the lives of people for the better.
So often when PCE is asked about social marketing and in particular Facebook campaigns, the starting point is wrong. The message that is trying to be portrayed is a sales message that defines content as something that is a saleable commodity, a service ...what the company wants to sell rather than what clients need or value.
In financial services that leads to articles on the latest superannuation or investment legislation or ideas with the call to action being "for more information make an appointment with us".
It is no wonder these pages and posts have few "likes" let alone responses to action.
Posts like these miss the essence of what it is to be human. They fall short of what individuals are looking for in a postmodernist society.
Being an individual means we interact and associate with that that makes us human. We are drawn and driven to bond with things and people that inspire, motivate and connect us to something greater than ourselves.
Facebook content then for any business should be that which is an expression of who we are and what our values are. It means exposing your vulnerabilities and your humanness.
The Warwick Foundation is a reminder of what it means to be human. In the rawness of a cancer diagnosis it is our humanity that defines us. Nothing else matters. And our humanity at that moment is stripped back from any social structures or protocols and comes back to simple and complex basics : emotion, support, bonding, love.
So for those looking for Facebook content with meaning then checking out https://www.facebook.com/thewarwickfoundation is a good start to remind us of what it means to be human and what is important.
Connecting with and sharing this community might just be your first step in helping create something much larger than we as indviduals could do alone.
Decidedly nervous as being self aware (PCE are most comfortable presenting on client engagement psychology) as an MC PCE realises they are not funny (proven on previous MC attempts!).
But that did not matter. What really mattered was the expression of a community, the inclusion of people, cancer patients aged 18 to 40 who don't have a formal support network and the telling of their stories to spread the word and create something bigger than ourselves and something positive out of the trauma of a cancer diagnosis.
One of the key messages of the day was : tell the story. That is share it, spread it : the power of social interaction that defines our identity and creates new social structures that challenge the staus quo and changes, positively changes the society in which we interact.
Without the social interaction foundations such as the Warwick Foundation can not do the work to change the lives of people for the better.
So often when PCE is asked about social marketing and in particular Facebook campaigns, the starting point is wrong. The message that is trying to be portrayed is a sales message that defines content as something that is a saleable commodity, a service ...what the company wants to sell rather than what clients need or value.
In financial services that leads to articles on the latest superannuation or investment legislation or ideas with the call to action being "for more information make an appointment with us".
It is no wonder these pages and posts have few "likes" let alone responses to action.
Posts like these miss the essence of what it is to be human. They fall short of what individuals are looking for in a postmodernist society.
Being an individual means we interact and associate with that that makes us human. We are drawn and driven to bond with things and people that inspire, motivate and connect us to something greater than ourselves.
Facebook content then for any business should be that which is an expression of who we are and what our values are. It means exposing your vulnerabilities and your humanness.
The Warwick Foundation is a reminder of what it means to be human. In the rawness of a cancer diagnosis it is our humanity that defines us. Nothing else matters. And our humanity at that moment is stripped back from any social structures or protocols and comes back to simple and complex basics : emotion, support, bonding, love.
So for those looking for Facebook content with meaning then checking out https://www.facebook.com/thewarwickfoundation is a good start to remind us of what it means to be human and what is important.
Connecting with and sharing this community might just be your first step in helping create something much larger than we as indviduals could do alone.
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Lessons from LA : Socially connected businesses
WOW! What an amazing time PCE had in LA last week. Aside from the glitz, glamour and fun, one thing that could not escape our attention was how socially connected businesses were with their communities.
Now we are not talking about transnational corporations, we are talking about local small/medium enterprises that have created communities of fans that engage with the enterprise through social networks and in so doing share their experiences, provide feedback, provide virtually free advertising and constant sources of referrals.
All the business needs to do to perpetuate the success of the community is to engage in kind and respond with value.
But what are the ingredients that allow this to happen.
This is the beauty of the simplicity of the process.
These businesses :
1) Make it easy to connect with them.
2) Provide a service and customer experience that is compellingly shareable.
3) Respond to the interactions.
Whilst in LA PCE posed the question via twitter that asked financial services business to imagine that they provided an experience that was so good clients would "check in" while visiting their financial services professional. Take this a step further and imagine a service so good that the client would Instagram, Facebook, Tweet the experience "live" as it unfolded.
Crazy? No......rather a reality that leading businesses are creating.
1) Make it easy to connect
- provide and advertise that you have free wi-fi in your office especially in your waiting area
- in that space have QR codes or connection boards that invite your clients to connect via Twitter, Facebook, Yelp etc
- invite on that connection board clients to check in
- make sure you have active pages on these sites with great content
2) Provide a service and customer experience that is shareable
- name cards reserving a spot in the car park "welcome"
- great coffee
- kids play area
- magazines and articles in reception tailored to your clients specific interests (change them for each client coming in that day)
- take a leaf out of car sales : the photo and flowers of the proud new owners of an implemented statement of advice
Clients will share via social networks these experiences because you have made them feel special!!
3) Respond to the interaction
- "like" their check in
- respond with comments
- post their picture
Over all get social and nurture your client community.
From cafes, to doggy day care, from juice bars to blow wave bars, fitness centres and yes financial planners people in LA get social and share what is shareable.
It all starts with a compelling customer experience.
Now we are not talking about transnational corporations, we are talking about local small/medium enterprises that have created communities of fans that engage with the enterprise through social networks and in so doing share their experiences, provide feedback, provide virtually free advertising and constant sources of referrals.
All the business needs to do to perpetuate the success of the community is to engage in kind and respond with value.
But what are the ingredients that allow this to happen.
This is the beauty of the simplicity of the process.
These businesses :
1) Make it easy to connect with them.
2) Provide a service and customer experience that is compellingly shareable.
3) Respond to the interactions.
Whilst in LA PCE posed the question via twitter that asked financial services business to imagine that they provided an experience that was so good clients would "check in" while visiting their financial services professional. Take this a step further and imagine a service so good that the client would Instagram, Facebook, Tweet the experience "live" as it unfolded.
Crazy? No......rather a reality that leading businesses are creating.
1) Make it easy to connect
- provide and advertise that you have free wi-fi in your office especially in your waiting area
- in that space have QR codes or connection boards that invite your clients to connect via Twitter, Facebook, Yelp etc
- invite on that connection board clients to check in
- make sure you have active pages on these sites with great content
2) Provide a service and customer experience that is shareable
- name cards reserving a spot in the car park "welcome"
- great coffee
- kids play area
- magazines and articles in reception tailored to your clients specific interests (change them for each client coming in that day)
- take a leaf out of car sales : the photo and flowers of the proud new owners of an implemented statement of advice
Clients will share via social networks these experiences because you have made them feel special!!
3) Respond to the interaction
- "like" their check in
- respond with comments
- post their picture
Over all get social and nurture your client community.
From cafes, to doggy day care, from juice bars to blow wave bars, fitness centres and yes financial planners people in LA get social and share what is shareable.
It all starts with a compelling customer experience.
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